Post-driver



Patented July I9, |898.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

e. w. Timm. PUST DRIVER'.

(Application filed Oct, 5, 1897,)

(No Model.)

Nrrn Srnrns FFCE@ POST-DRIVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Ifatent No. 607,577, dated J' uly I9, y189,8. Application filed October 5, 1897. i Serial No. 654,130. (No model.)

T all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that LHGEORGE W. TIPToN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Howard,in the county of Centre'and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Post- Driver, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to Aimprovements in machines for driving posts; and the object that I have in view is to provide a simple machine which may be readily moved from one place to another for driving fence-posts in the ground or'for resetting old fence-posts in order to save the Wire or other fencing material.`

A further object of the invention'is to provide an improved construction by which the machine is held iirmly and steadily in place and bywhich it is adapted for service equally as well on hillsides as on level ground.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of trip mechanism which shall be simple in construction and positive and Vefficient in operation.

A 4further object of the invention is to provide an improved holder for the fence-post, which holder may be easily adjusted to the post and is slidably tted in the machine to sustain the post in proper position beneath the drop-weight.

To the accomplishment of these ends my invention consists in the novel combination of elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, l have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, and in which Figure l is a perspectiveV view of my improved machine especially adapted for driving fence-posts. Fig52 is a sectional elevation of the machine, the plane of section being taken through the machine at one sideof the upright leads or guides. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the plane indicated by the dotted'line 3 3 of'Fig. 2,V showing the slidable post-holder in position Within the upright leads or guides. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the drop-weight, showing the preferred construction of the guide-lugs thereon. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the power-sha1' t, the'master-gear, and a detachable crank.

' Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings. j

I construct my machine,especially designed for driving fence-posts or for resetting old fence-posts, With the upright leads or guidetimbers l l and with a horizontally-arranged holdin g-fram'e 2, which is adjustably attached yto the transverse axle 3, that sustains the carrying-Wheels 4. The horizontal holdingframe consists of the timbers 5, the legs 6, the braces 7, the transverse stays 8, and the tie-bar 9, all of which are suitably united together in a substantial manner. The braces 7 are arranged above the horizontal timbers 5, and the short legs 6 are bolted to the timbers and the braces,near the ends of the latter, said braces 7 being extended beyond the posts to form the handle-bars by which the machine may be guided in moving it from one place to another. The timbers 5 are loosely itted at their inner ends on the axle 3, between the carrying-Wheels 4 and the upright leads or guide-timbers l, and the braces or handle-bars 7 are pivotally attached to the upright leads or guide-timbers l by means of the bolts 7 a. The horizontal frame 2 is thus pivotally attached to the upright leads to enable the frame to be raised or lowered so as to adapt the machine for service either on level ground'or on a hillside. The holdingframe is maintainedin its adjusted position `bythe stay-rods lO, curved throughout their length'l and attached at one end Vtov the timbers 5 of the holding-frame. The'other ends of the stay-rods are confined onV the" upright leads or timbers l of the machine-framing by the adjustable clamps consisting of the baseplates 11, the curved clamping-plate l2, and the nutted bolts 13, whereby the clamps operate to hold the stay-rods lO firmly in place, and they may be released to enable the curved stay-rods to be moved'through the same to allow of the proper adjustment of the hold-l ing-frame 2, after which the clamps are tightened to iirmly grip the stay-rods and hold the latter and the frame 2 in rigid relation to the upright timbers 1 of the machine-framing.

The ground-wheels 4 may be of any suit- IOO able construction, and they are supported on the axle 3 outside of the timbers 5 of the holding-frame. This axle is extended, preferably, between the upright leads or guidetimbers 1 of the machine; and to bring the axle out of the path of the post I bend or deflect the same between the upright leads or timbers 1, as shown at 3 in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The upright leads or guide-timbers 1 are joined at their upper ends by a headpiece 1, and in the opposing faces of said leads are formed the guideways 14, said leads or timbers being faced with wear-plates 15 to reduce the wear on the parts to a minimum.

The drop-weight 16 is arranged to slide freely between the leads or timbers 1, and said weight is provided with horizontal arms 17, which project laterally from the weight so as to fit in the guideways of the leads. To the eye 18 of the drop-weight is attached a rope or cable 10, which passes over a guidesheave 20, suspended from the headpiece 1. This rope or cable passes through any opening in the upper part of one of the timbers or leads `1 and over another guide-roller or sheave 21, attached to the outside of the lead or timber through which the rope passes. The end of the rope or cable is fastened to, and adapted to be coiled on, a drum 22, the shaft of which is journaled at one end in a bearing 23 on the machine-framing,the other end of said shaft being j ournaled in a bracket 24, attached to the side of the lead or timber and projecting laterally therefrom. The shaft of the winding-drum 22 is provided, outside of the bracket 24, with a gearpinion 25,which is adapted to mesh with a master-gear 26 on one end of the shiftable power-shaft 27. This power-shaft 27 is loosely fitted in boxes or bearings 27 fastened to the upright leads or timbers 1, so that the shaft may bev free to rotate in said bearings and to have an endwise or sliding movement therein; and one end 4of this shaft is equipped with a handcrank 28, by which the shaft may be conveniently rotated in order to wind the cable or rope on the winding-drum when the shaft is in position for its master-gear 26 to mesh with the pinion 25 of said drum. The endwise movement of the shaftis limited by the stop-collars 29 29, which are fast with the shaft in positions thereon to abut against one of the boxes or bearings 27a in order that the shaft may be confined by one collar when the gears 25 26 are in mesh to make the shaft 27 actuate the drum 22 to wind up the cable or rope and raise the weight, as well as to have the other collar limit the play of the shaft 27 under the impulse or action of the trip mechanism.

,My trip mechanism is exceedingly simple in construction and it is combined directly with the shiftable power-shaft 27. The trip mechanism consists of a lever 30, a trip rod pivot the vertically-disposed rod or bar 31,

and the lower end of said bar or rod is formed with a cam-shaped wedge 35, arranged to impinge directly against one end of the shiftable shaft 27. This wed ge or cam formed end of the triprod or bar is fitted loosely in a suitable guide 3G, attached to one of the boxes or bearings of the shaft 27, and thus the bar or rod 31 is maintained in operative relation to the shaft 27 in order to have its wedge or cam force the shaft 27 in one direction when the trip-lever is actuated by the weight on its ascent. The spring 32 is preferably of the coiled variety, and one end of this spring is attached to the upright guide lead or timber, while its other end is attached to the lever 30 at or near the point where the rod or bar 31 is attached to said lever.

The post to be driven is held in proper position beneath the drop-weight by employing the holder 37, which is constructed to be removed easily from the upright leads 1 and to have free sliding movement therein, as well as to be clamped rigidly to the post. The holder consists of a bar or rod 38, a clampingplate 39, and an adjusting-bolt 40. The bar or rod is curved at an intermediate point of its length to provide a seat for the post to be fitted in the holder, and this bar or rod isl made of such length that its ends may be fitted in the guideways of the leads or timbers 1 in order to fit the holder detachably in place and to enable it to slide freely between the leads as the post is forced down under the blows of the drop-weight. The bar or rod 38 is provided at one side of the post-seat with an eyebolt 41 and on the other side of the post seat with a transverse opening, through which passes the clamping-bolt 40. The clamping-plate 39 is shaped to fit to the post, and at one end it has a hook 42, and at its other end it is furnished with an opening adapted to aline with the opening in the bar or rod 38, to provide for the passage of the bolt 40. The hook of the clamping-plate fits in the eye of the bolt 41, and the holder may be easily fitted around the post, after which the bolt 40 is passed through the openings in the bar and the plate, so that its nut may be tightened to make the holder embrace the post tightly. In lieu of using a bolt with a nut I may provide a threaded orifice in the plate 39 and use a thumb-bolt with washers, as shown.

IOO

This being the construction of my improved machine, the operation may be described as follows: The machine is moved to a position adjacent to the post to be driven, and the to force its wedge or cam formed end against l the end of the shaft 27, thus moving the latter endwise in a direction to throw its gear 26 out of mesh with the gear 25, thereby releasing the winding-drum and allowing the dropweight to fall upon the post. The spring 32 returns the trip device to its normal position, and the operator again moves the shaft 27 into gear with the winding-drum shaft, and the operation is repeated to enable the dropweight to drive the post into the lground the desired distance. The holder 38 maintains the post in the proper position beneath the weight,

and it slides in the frame or the leads l thereof as the post is gradually driven under the blows of the weight. The holding-frame 2 may be easily adj usted to enable the machine to stand in proper relation to the post, either on level ground or on a hillside, and this frame serves to steady the machine so that the weight can deliver its blows to good advantage.

I am aware that changes in the minor details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such modifications as fairly fall within the scope of the invention.

One of the important advantages of my machine is that I provide a slidable holder which serves to keep the post in position below the hammer-weight and also prevents the post from splitting under the impact or blow of the hammer-weight. The holder is constructed for application to a post in a manner to,

weight cast in a single-piece with an elongated guide-arxn provided on each side of said weight. These elongated guide-arms project laterally from the weight to properly fit in the guideways of the upright frame, and said guide-arms are of sufficient length to properly retain the hammer-Weight in position.

The crank and handle 28 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as attached to the master-gear; but this is an obvious expedient. One change in this part ofV the machine which will readily suggest itself to a skilled mechanic is to make the crank separate from the master-gear and t the crank detachably on the power-shaft, as indicated byFig. 5. It is also evident that a suitable ratchet and pawl may be used to hold the drop-weight from falling while the post is being placed in position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a post-driving machine, the combination with a drop-Weight, of a winding-drum, a cable between said weight and drum, a

.shiftable power-shaft adapted to be geared to the drum, a trip-lever fulcrumed at an` intermediate point of its length and having one end thereof in the path of said weight, a spring, and a trip rod or bar connected tothe other end of the trip-lever and having a camformed end to impinge against one end of the shiftable power-shaft, as and for the purposes described.

2. In a post-drivingmachine, the combination with a drop-weight, a winding-drum, and a cable or rope, of a shiftable power-shaft adapted to be geared to said drum, a trip-lever in the path of said weight, a trip bar or rod attached at one end to the lever and having a cam-formed end arranged to impinge directly against one end of -the shiftable power-shaft, a guide in which the free end of the rod or bar plays, and a spring to return the trip-lever and trip-bar to their normal positions, as and for the purposes described.

3. In a post or pile driver, the combination with an upright guide-frame for the Weighthammer, and a wheeled axle, of the holdingframe attached to the axle and having the short posts, G, the handle-bars pivoted to the upright frame and to the short posts, the sectional clamps having their base-plates iiXed tothe upright frame and their adjustable plates bolted to said base-plates, and the stayrods attached to the holding-frame and adj ustably coniined by the clamp, substantially as described.

4. In a post or pile driver, the combination with an upright guide frame having the grooves in the opposing faces of its side pieces, of a slidable post guide and clamp comprising a bent bar provided with the heads which are fitted loosely in said grooves and With an eye at a point intermediate of its length, a clamping-plate loosely iitted in said eye, and a bolt which unites the bar and plate detachably together, substantially as described.

5. In a postdriving machine, a slidable post-holder consisting of a guiding bar or rod IOO IIO

provided with a post-seat and with a. transverse bolt-hole at one side of said seat, an eyebolt attached to the bar o1' rod on the other side of the post-seat, a clamping-plate having a hook which loosely engages the eyebolt, and a clamping-boit passing through the perforations in the guiding bai or rod and the clamping-p1ate,a,s and for the purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my oWn I have hereto affixed my signature in [o the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE W. TIP'ION.

Witnesses:

WARD V. SCHENCK, MAUD SCHENCK. 

